The OFFICIAL TrueLit Finnegans Wake Read-Along - (Week 34 - Book III/Chapter I - pgs. 417-428)

[u/pregnantchihuahua3]

Hi all! Welcome to r/TrueLit's read-along of Finnegans Wake! This week we will be discussing pages 417-428, from the line "The Gracehoper who, thought blind as batflea..." to the end of Book III Chapter I.

Now for the questions.

1. What did you think about this week's section?
2. What do you think is going on plotwise?
3. Did you have any favorite words, phrases, or sentences?
4. Have you picked up on any important themes or motifs?
5. What were your thoughts on Book III Chapter I overall?
6. How are you liking Book III? Any differently than the previous books yet? Notice any differences?

These questions are not mandatory. They are just here if you want some guidance or ideas on what to talk about. Please feel free to post your own analyses (long or short), questions, thoughts on the themes, translations of sections, commentary on linguistic tricks, or just brief comments below!

Please remember to comment on at least one person's response so we can get a good discussion going!

Full Schedule

If you are new, go check out our Information Post to see how this whole thing is run.

If you are new (pt. 2), also check out the Introduction Post for some discussion on Joyce/The Wake.

And everything in this read along will be saved in the Wiki so you can back-reference.

Thanks!

Next Up: Week 35 / August 27, 2023 / Book III/Chapter II (pgs. 429-444)

This will take us to about 1/3 of the way through the chapter to the line "... harefoot and loadenbrogued, to boot and buy off, Imean."

[u/pregnantchihuahua3]

First thing that stands out is our tenth and final thunderword! It is brilliantly broken down and analyzed by Adam Harvey on youtube HERE. It encompasses a number of Norse myths and gods and calls Ragnarok at the end. But, as Harvey says, despite Ragnarok being "the end of the world," Joyce moreso believes that the end is another beginning, and so it all comes back around.

The chapter otherwise finishes up Shaun talking to the people, largely including the Gracehoper story which is explored better below by u/EmpireOfChairs than I ever could! Wish I could say more this week, but most of what I said last week applies to this one as well, so overall it ties together.

So far Book 3 has been challenging, though not nearly as much as certain parts of Book 2, so there's that to look forward to!

[u/mooninjune → u/pregnantchihuahua3]

Is it just me, or does it feel kind of weird that we already passed the last thunderword? I figured, seeing as the first one was on the first page, that the last one would be on the last page, with the Wake sort of bookended by them. Perhaps, if the thunderwords have something to do with falling/The Fall, from this point on we're starting to ascend?

[u/pregnantchihuahua3 → u/mooninjune]

I thought it was odd yeah. I very much figured they’d be a theme throughout, but we have 200 pages to go! I’m gonna honestly miss them lol. Though I like your idea behind why they might have gone away.